Featured domain name: .scot

Stuart Melling

4 months ago

With our recent addition of nearly 200 new domain name selections, the options for a new site address can be fairly intimidating. Even within a single niche there can be several tough choices; .design or .agency? .marketing or .consulting? While our new domain name search tool tries to make the process simpler with intelligent suggestions – the choice is still ultimately yours.

With this in mind, each month we’ll be featuring and focusing on just one particular domain name; hopefully we’ll fire your imagination and inspiration along the way. We thought we’d start with one of the most popular domain names we’ve added in recent times – .scot. The popularity and appeal of a .scot domain name is instantly apparent. For a bit of background and information on this domain, we spoke to Chiara Bullen of the .scot registry:

The introduction of the .scot domain in 2014 meant that, for the first time in the history of the internet, the worldwide family of Scots had a home online. The domain finally enabled Scottish people and organisations to uniquely identify themselves online, as opposed to using generic domains such as .com and .uk. Whether a business, a cultural or arts body or even an individual, it became possible to highlight one’s Scottish connection.

Three years and 12,000 domain registrations in 43 countries later, the .scot domain is stronger than ever. It quickly became one of the world’s most successful community domain names as the Scots community and diaspora rallied around the idea prior to its launch. Subsequently, Scotland’s government was the first in the world to register a community gTLD with www.gov.scot, demonstrating the demand for such a domain in the first place.

Some of the most prolific .scot users include NHS Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Scottish Food and Drink and of course the Scottish government. But the thousands of local businesses, artists, photographers, distilleries, musicians, bloggers and many others who use the .scot domain are equally as important to promoting Scottish culture online.

.scot renewal rates currently sit at an average of 93% which is significantly higher than the industry standard, demonstrating the enthusiasm and customer satisfaction that motivates users to continue using the domain.

Scots across the globe are also reaping the rewards of a .scot domain. Scottish culture is celebrated joyously worldwide meaning there are those who wish to demonstrate their affinity to Scotland globally. As the .scot domain is a cultural identifier and not a geographical one, it means that anyone in the world can use the domain to illustrate their Scottish roots, heritage and/or affinity with Scottish culture.

.scot has certainly resonated with 34SP.com clients, the TLD is now listed in our top ten most popular domain names. If your website, business or organization has a link to Scotland, you too might want to try a Scot domain name too.